Wednesday, January 27, 2010

26/01/2010 After announcing the 2009 Masters Awards winners last week, Hasselblad is gearing up for the 2010 Masters Awards competition. The prestigious Masters Awards competition, in its tenth year, rewards photographic excellence in the areas of creativity, composition, conceptual strength, and technical skill.

For 2010, Hasselblad has added a new photo specialty category, wildlife. So this year's winners will be chosen in 11 categories, instead of last year's 10 categories - architecture, editorial, fashion/beauty, fine art, general photography, nature/landscape, portrait, product, up and coming, wedding/social - plus wildlife. The up-and-coming photographer category is open to all professional photographers, regardless of length of time in the business or camera format. Submissions for all other categories will be accepted from established professional photographers who use any large-format or medium-format camera.

In 2009, submissions from nearly 3,000 photographers made selecting only 10 winners a daunting task for the international panel of judges. Says Christian Nørgaard, Hasselblad´s Photographer Relations Manager, “The high level of entries in 2009 demonstrates the excellent reputation these coveted awards have developed over the years for celebrating the best established and rising photographic talent.”

The judging process will take place in two stages: an internal jury will perform the first round and a panel of independent, external judges - composed of industry professionals, including leading art directors and editors, and renowned photographers. Once again, the public will have one vote in the selection of the finalists.

Each of the 11 2010 winners - representing the 11 categories - will receive the free use of Hasselblad’s flagship camera system, have their work and Masters’ project marketed and profiled via Hasselblad’s website and marketing materials, and receive a framed diploma certifying their Masters' status. The winners also will use the camera to capture images for a unique, commemorative photography book, with each winner rendering a personal interpretation of a given theme.